(Hoax) Jacob's creature
The Jacob's Creature has been universally concluded by Bigfoot Researchers and Scientists as being an emaciated bear.
On 16 September 2007 a camera trap owned by a Rick Jacobs captured at least two indistinct images of a dark-colored animal in northwest Pennsylvania. In both pictures, the head of the animal was oriented away from the camera or otherwise obscured from view, even though the animal itself was standing in the open.
Uncertain as to the identity of the animal, Jacobs’ brother, according to various news accounts, encouraged him to submit the photos to sasquatch investigators. Among those contacted was the Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization (BFRO).
Securing rights to the images, the photos were displayed on the BFRO website on 19 October 2007 and identified as depicting a juvenile sasquatch. A third photo was included that clearly showed two young bear cubs, photographed about 28 minutes before the “Jacobs creature” (as the BFRO dubbed the subject). Based on photo time stamps and comments from the Jacobs family, other pictures were apparently taken by the trail camera, but they were not initially made available for public viewing.
The BFRO discussion accompanying the photos claimed that, according to sighting reports, young sasquatches are quadrupedal. By the BFRO's account, U.S. and Canadian bear and primate experts, including someone at Idaho State University (by implication, Dr. Jeff Meldrum), had supposedly offered tentative opinions supporting the unknown primate interpretation, but no one identified with this position was named then or in the following months.
Perhaps because of the timing of the release of the Jacobs photos with the fortieth anniversary of the filming of a sasquatch at Bluff Creek, CA, by Roger Patterson and Bob Gimlin, or the proximity of the story with Halloween, a traditional time for bigfoot related newspaper articles and television programs, the Jacobs photos story captured the attention of the public and was picked up worldwide by the media. No small part of the media’s attention was drawn to the debate raging among sasquatch researchers.
Within an hour of the appearance of the photos on the Internet, opinions appeared on bigfoot-related websites to the effect that the Jacobs creature could be a young black bear. Environmental and cultural studies student and Fortean Times editor, Melanie J. Martin identified the Jacobs figure as a bipedal type animal in an article distributed by Fortean Times. Dr. Jeff Meldrum stated during an Earthfiles podcast [1], the Jacobs figure was shaped more like a chimpanzee than a bear. He also stated that the developmental trajectories of a young Sasquatch have not yet been established. He believes they could be similar to chimpanzee until they mature. On the other hand in an interview, and later during a presentation at the Texas Bigfoot Conference on 10 November 2007, Dr. Jeff Meldrum also stated the subject was in all likelihood a black bear. All this after viewing a “trick” image that overlaid bones of a bears leg yet purposely left out the spine to hide the difference in proportions. He also viewed another “trick” image that was also privately sent to bear expert Lynn Rogers in an attempt to influence his opinion also. Lynn Rogers identified the figure as a juvenile black bear after being sent a private email in which Alton Higgins sent. In it he said “I've attached some images where I compare the PA animal (a yearling black bear, in my opinion) photographed by the Jacobs game camera, with a juvenile black bear.” A closer examination of these images at a later time after members of the BFRO were presented this infromation from Lynn Rogers revealed that a portion of the rear leg was cut off and the image was aligned over the bear in a manner that hid the difference in limb proportions. This was purposely done to give it the appearance to be exactly the same. Some members of the BFRO questioned this as it was a suspicious and peculiarly persuasive act for Bigfoot proponents. Alton Higgins then took Lyn Rogers email reply to the "trick" images and discussed them during the 2008 Texas Bigfoot Conference. On 1-1-2009, after being shown how he was tricked with the images Lynn Rogers wrote that to be absolutely sure the Jacobs figure was a bear or a primate he would have to had been there at the time the photo was taken. The Pennsylvania Game Commission biologist publicly stated from looking at the subject on the BFRO that it was a black bear with a severe case of mange. This after the news media caused a hysterical mob of panicked individuals demanding answers. They also went so far as to chastise the news media for reporting the story of a questionable photo.
Support for both the black bear and juvenile sasquatch views focused on arguments pertaining to leg lengths. Sasquatch proponents stated that the leg lengths were far too long for a black bear, but that they were consistent with what would be expected for an undocumented species of great ape. Conversely, bear proponents argued that the leg lengths, visible body proportions, and anatomical features were perfectly consistent with a young black bear interpretation.
In the face of widespread criticism regarding the identification of the Jacobs photos subject as a sasquatch, the BFRO soon ameliorated their statements and assigned “Unclassified Primate?” captions to the pictures. However, they continued to assert that unnamed experts supported the possible juvenile sasquatch interpretation. Science investigative journalist Linda Moulton Howe stated the Jacobs animal “looks more like a primate than a bear.” Australian scientist Vanessa Woods from Duke University reported during an investigation in 2008 that "it looks very similar to a Bonobo Chimpanzee." Her accurate measurements taken during a survey on location and displayed in the science publication ISSN 1442-2212 revealed the proportions were not of a bear.
Timeline of key events
Sources for this timeline are The Bradford Era, Bradford Pa., unless otherwise noted.
- September 16, 2007: Elk county deer hunter Rick Jacobs captures two images on an automatic camera mounted to a tree on a game trail in the Allegheny National Forest. Jacobs was attempting to locate deer in preparation for the fall deer season. He retrieved a variety of animal pictures since he installed the camera in August, that included deer, coyote, raccoons, and bears. He could not identify the last two images taken on Sept. 16 and never recorded anything else from that camera at that location for several days after. Source: The Daily Press, St Marys, Pennsylvania 11-03-07
- October 19, 2007: Securing rights to the images, the photos were displayed on the BFRO website and identified as depicting a juvenile Sasquatch. A third photo was included that clearly showed two young bear cubs, photographed about 28 minutes before the “Jacobs creature” (as the BFRO dubbed the subject).
- October 26, 2007: The Bradford Era found out about the sighting and interviewed Rick Jacobs. The Bradford Era ran the story in the areas local news paper along with the pictures. They released the story to the Associated Press where it was distributed to television and news agencies all over the world. The controversial images started an internet firestorm of debate of just what they are of and quickly became the top story on Yahoo and MSN. They soon began to appear in books, magazines and television programs including CNN, Good Morning America, MSNBC, Fox news and the Ellen Degeneres Show.
- October 27, 2007: The Bradford Era was contacted by the Pennsylvania Game Commission who demanded equal time on the story and believed the photos were of a bear with a severe case of mange. They were furious over the unnecessary panic the photos were causing local people living in the area. They had to shut down their phone lines from a surge in concerned callers. Conversely some formed the opinion that it may be the Pennsylvania Game Commission that has misinterpreted the photos. They interviewed Cryptozoologist Scott Corrales who offered his expertise and stated "they just want to call it a bear and go from there."
- October 29, 2007: One of the nation’s largest broadcast news organizations MSNBC said the hunter’s picture revive the lively Bigfoot debate. Their Kieth Oberman interviewed Bob Kiviat “Worlds Greatest Hoaxes Exposed,” who didn’t believe it looked like a bear and said it was “truly a mystery”. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21518056/
- October 31, 2007: During an interview on Earthfiles podcast, Dr. Jeff Meldrum discussed his initial thought regarding the Jacobs photos.http://www.earthfiles333.com/earthfiles/Episode27mp3.html
- May, 28, 2008: Bushnell, the makers of the game camera used by Jacobs, offered a one million dollar reward for a verifiable photograph of a sasquatch. This supposedly came after they had a group of wildlife photography experts, along with a zoologist and a biologist, who couldn't positively identify the creature in the pictures. http://www.fstrailcamcontest.com/
- November 2008: Vanessa Woods, a scientist from Duke University who specializes in bonobos, didn’t rule out the possibility of the creature being a sasquatch. This was the latest detailed investigation in which scientists worked out the size of the Jacobs subject. They used a photographic recreation from the location that included a model and a survey of the grounds. Their results displayed that the proportions were not of a bear. Scientriffic issue# 58 ISSN 1442-2212
